180 or more days absence - Home Insurance:

[Peter Clark]

I’ve been reading all the threads I can find - not seen anyone who says they have obtained more than 90 days coverage for an unoccupied property - and that was a couple of years ago, with an additional premium payment.

(My insurance is with John Lewis - underwriter used to be Royal Sun Alliance - now changed to Munich Re Group (who?) - policy is strictly 60 days In Total per annum, unless another resident member of the family is in the property)

My understanding is that having friends - or non resident family - move in and out periodically does not count for any insurance company.

The only two ways round it that I believe I have found:
1) Set up a house-share rental - then everyone in the house is covered under the same insurance, so if one person is absent, the cover remains valid.
2) Go away for 59 days then come back, cancel insurance, take out new policy with another company and go away again - not something I want to do.

From previous threads I have listed the following recommendations to contact:
Home Protect
Camping & Caravan Club
LV insurance
M&S
Safeguard
Co-Op
Devitt Brokers

I would be glad to hear from those who have first hand experience of insurance companies - or brokers - who can arrange cover for unoccupied periods over 90 days - ideally 180 to 270 days.

 

[peterc10]

LV has a limit of 60 days with house not occupied, but they don't have any overall yearly limit.

 

[Peter Clark]

LV has a limit of 60 days with house not occupied, but they don't have any overall yearly limit.

From what I have learned in a couple of hours on the phone today - when a limit on consecutive days unoccupied is given, that is also the maximum total for the whole year.

It did not read like that in my policy documents, but after a couple of call backs it was confirmed as a cumulative maximum - if exceeded then insurance is void.

 

[scotzsue]

From what I have learned in a couple of hours on the phone today - when a limit on consecutive days unoccupied is given, that is also the maximum total for the whole year.

It did not read like that in my policy documents, but after a couple of call backs it was confirmed as a cumulative maximum - if exceeded then insurance is void.

Thanks for the info we are in the process of renewal, our CMC has gone up by over 300%

 

[steve69]

How would the insurer know how long you have been away? If you have a neighbour/friend/relative keeping an eye on the place and something bad happens, you would be contacted by them straight away. You could then return home and report to the insurer you were away for a couple of weeks, wild-camping. How could they prove otherwise?

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[Mother Ship]

If abroad they ask for proof of travel, ferry bookings. I think you will find that you are not covered if return travel is not booked. First thing they ask for in event of claim for house insurance or travel insurance.

 

[Peter Clark]

How would the insurer know how long you have been away? If you have a neighbour/friend/relative keeping an eye on the place and something bad happens, you would be contacted by them straight away. You could then return home and report to the insurer you were away for a couple of weeks, wild-camping. How could they prove otherwise?

Not a risk I’m willing to take.

LV has a limit of 60 days with house not occupied, but they don't have any overall yearly limit.

I have just spoken to LV - the standard cover is 60 days per annum.

They advised they will extend cover - from the date you leave for any period of longer than 60 days - and will charge an additional premium for Unoccupied Property from that date to the policy end date.

If you return home before the policy end date, they will refund the additional premium effective from date of your return.

If you then go away for another period of more than 60 days - the process is repeated.

They will not give any indication of the additional premium until you ask for the over 60 days extension.

One stipulation is that someone visits the property every 7 days to clear up mail (fire hazard) and check home is all OK.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

One thing we found - if your renewal date is during your trip away then the clock restarts with your new policy.
We were about to pay extra for extra cover when we realised this whilst chatting to them.

 

[peterc10]

From what I have learned in a couple of hours on the phone today - when a limit on consecutive days unoccupied is given, that is also the maximum total for the whole year.

It did not read like that in my policy documents, but after a couple of call backs it was confirmed as a cumulative maximum - if exceeded then insurance is void.

Their definition in their Ts and Cs of "unoccupied" is "Not lived in by you or your family for more than 60 days in a row, or doesn't have enough furniture or services for normal living purposes. By lived in we mean stayed in and slept overnight for at least 2 nights in a row each week". In addition their exclusions for cover state "after your home has been unoccupied for more than 60 days in a row...."

There is no way that they could possibly argue that the 60 days is cumulative in a year given the emphasised words, because the 60 days not occupied only count if they are in a row, and they won't be in our case.

 

[Peter Clark]

Their definition in their Ts and Cs of "unoccupied" is "Not lived in by you or your family for more than 60 days in a row, or doesn't have enough furniture or services for normal living purposes. By lived in we mean stayed in and slept overnight for at least 2 nights in a row each week". In addition their exclusions for cover state "after your home has been unoccupied for more than 60 days in a row...."

There is no way that they could possibly argue that the 60 days is cumulative in a year given the emphasised words, because the 60 days not occupied only count if they are in a row, and they won't be in our case.

Might be worth getting them to confirm what the cumulative total allowed/covered is - for total days unoccupied in year.

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[Bolti]

Not a risk I’m willing to take.

I have just spoken to LV - the standard cover is 60 days per annum.

They advised they will extend cover - from the date you leave for any period of longer than 60 days - and will charge an additional premium for Unoccupied Property from that date to the policy end date.

If you return home before the policy end date, they will refund the additional premium effective from date of your return.

If you then go away for another period of more than 60 days - the process is repeated.

They will not give any indication of the additional premium until you ask for the over 60 days extension.

One stipulation is that someone visits the property every 7 days to clear up mail (fire hazard) and check home is all OK.

I extended my unoccupancy with LV, policy had 6 months left to run and the extra to extend was £10.30. someone needs to check property weekly, move mail and in winter heating to be left on.

 

[Peter Clark]

I extended my unoccupancy with LV, policy had 6 months left to run and the extra to extend was £10.30. someone needs to check property weekly, move mail and in winter heating to be left on.

I extended my unoccupancy with LV, policy had 6 months left to run and the extra to extend was £10.30. someone needs to check property weekly, move mail and in winter heating to be left on.

How long did you extend for?

 

[peterc10]

Might be worth getting them to confirm what the cumulative total allowed/covered is - for total days unoccupied in year.

There is no cumulative allowance in the Ts and Cs and cover and exclusions schedule, which, together form the contract I have with them. Therefore they cannot apply one. And their Insurance Product Information Documents states that I should only inform them if I leave my home unoccupied for more than 60 days in a row. I never do that.

 

[gus-lopez]

Use "unoccupied House insurance"

 

[royw]

Can you not get a family member to live there every so often ?

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[peterc10]

Duplication

 

[bigtwin]

Might be worth getting them to confirm what the cumulative total allowed/covered is - for total days unoccupied in year.

If there isn’t a “Keep off the grass” sign, do not ask anyone if you can walk on the grass.

Ian

 

[Bolti]

How long did you extend for?

Well it was till the end of the policy as I didn't realise that I had to inform them when I returned home it was only when the renewal came through and I questioned the increase in premium (which wasn't bad considering) that they thought the house was still unoccupied.

 

[Nirvanauk]

I’d like to thank the OP for raising this issue as it’s made me get of my lardy arse and look through my insurance policy. it’s with M&S and quite clearly states that the house is not covered if I am away for more than 90 consecutive days. Phew!

 

[Peter Clark]

Clarication on 60days:
John Lewis insurance - New Policies restricted to total of 60 days unoccupied per year.
(JL do not offer extensions)

Older legacy policies (like mine) - no limit on number of days unoccupied, provided do not exceed 60 consecutive days.

So I could be out of the country for 353 days a year so long as I spend a night at home every 60 days.

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[John and Jo]

I am also interested in this. What about C&CC, looks like they do 180 days unoccupied cover.

 

[Peter Clark]

I am also interested in this. What about C&CC, looks like they do 180 days unoccupied cover.

Several people have said they do - have to be a member of course.

 

[Hezbez]

You could try these;

Unoccupied Property Insurance

We have arrangements with insurers that allow us to provide insurance cover for unoccupied properties. Speak to an Howden specialist today.

www.endsleigh.co.uk

Unoccupied Property Insurance | Towergate

Giving you peace of mind when your property is unoccupied. Get a quote or buy online.

www.towergateinsurance.co.uk

 

[Minxy]

What you have to watch for with policy extensions is that if you do them you still have the same level of cover, for some when you extend beyond 60 days you loose some of the cover, eg for vandalism. I went into this in detail previously and although the cost to extend to 90 days was cheap I wasn't prepared to take the greater risks doing so involved so stuck to 60 days

 

[Minxy]

You could try these;

Unoccupied Property Insurance

We have arrangements with insurers that allow us to provide insurance cover for unoccupied properties. Speak to an Howden specialist today.

www.endsleigh.co.uk

Unoccupied Property Insurance | Towergate

Giving you peace of mind when your property is unoccupied. Get a quote or buy online.

www.towergateinsurance.co.uk

They aren't cheap, I had to get that when we were trying to sell our rental bungalow, it was nearly twice the price of occupied cover.

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[John and Jo]

Hmm yes this appears to be more of an obstacle the the 90/180 rule.

 

[offagen]

I’d like to thank the OP for raising this issue as it’s made me get of my lardy arse and look through my insurance policy. it’s with M&S and quite clearly states that the house is not covered if I am away for more than 90 consecutive days. Phew!

I am also interested in this. What about C&CC, looks like they do 180 days unoccupied cover.

Just FYI: I requested house and contents insurance quotes from M&S and C&CC. M&S offered 90 days full unoccupied cover. C&CC offered either 60 or 180 days full cover but no 90 day option. M&S came in at £380* with 90 day cover and C&CC at just over £800 for 180 day cover. Apart from the unoccupied period, the cover provided by both insurers was virtually identical. Needless to say, we went with M&S.

We were previously insured by Aviva but (we discovered after six weeks in France) only had 30 days unoccupied cover! Their all-online method of dealing with quotes, with no opportunity to speak to anyone, made getting the required info painful but we eventually found that they would extend to 60 days cover at extra cost but after 30 days the extent of cover was seriously reduced. They lost a customer.

* We went for M&S’s Standard policy with a few options added, which met our needs. Some might prefer or need their Premier policy which offers higher levels of cover but would add about £100 to the Standard premium.

 

[VXman]

From what I have learned in a couple of hours on the phone today - when a limit on consecutive days unoccupied is given, that is also the maximum total for the whole year.

It did not read like that in my policy documents, but after a couple of call backs it was confirmed as a cumulative maximum - if exceeded then insurance is void.

Really. Mine is is 60 day max policy. So I go away for 60 days in September (just after inception of policy) and I'm not allowed to go away again during the year? That's not the way I have been doing it for the last couple of years.

Not sure how the insurance would know if I'd been away in September when I put in a claim the following July? Also, I would expect to see this clearly laid out in the T & C's and I do not recall seeing that exception.

 

[gus-lopez]

Use "unoccupied House insurance"

then charge them for security for when you are actually at the property, so reducing the premium

They aren't cheap, I had to get that when we were trying to sell our rental bungalow, it was nearly twice the price of occupied cover.

as above.

 

[Speve]

I have just this minute contacted LV= re extended cover for our home up to 90 day for next year and they ask that someone checks the property once a week and that if you don’t have heating on then you are not covered for water or loss of oil the extra premium is £4.60 and we will leave heating on low So will be covered